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Sequester hits Vidalia Onion Festival

Cuts affect air shows, communities

Members of the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds perform at the Air Expo 2012 at Joint Base Lewis McChord, Wash. Budget cuts in Washington mean military flight teams are expected to be no-shows at air shows across the U.S. starting this spring.

When $85 billion in automatic cuts kicked in March 1, 2013, the Air Force canceled its air shows at bases from Florida to Arizona. It also grounded its team of formation-flying pilots, the Thunderbirds. The Army's Golden Knights parachute team has also canceled performances. The Navy's famous Blue Angels say military commanders "intend to cancel" their April shows.

SAVANNAH, Ga. — Even a rural festival celebrating the harvest of Georgia’s famous sweet onions isn’t safe from the federal budget battle 600 miles away, as automatic cuts are threatening to take away the star attraction for the Vidalia Onion Festival’s popular air show: the Navy’s daredevil fighter pilots, the Blue Angels.

The $85 billion in automatic budget cuts that took effect March 1 have thrown planning for the festival’s air show into a tailspin, just weeks before the April 20 event that officials agreed to hold a week earlier than usual so they could book the vaunted group. The Navy plans to cancel Blue Angels shows booked next month in Vidalia and three other cities. And there is a good chance dozens more air shows across the U.S. could get the ax as well, leaving host cities facing threats of lost tourism revenue and dwindling ticket sales.

“It’s going to hurt us,” said Marsha Temples, the chief organizer of the Vidalia air show, who estimates past festival weekends have drawn 15,000 extra people when the Blue Angels were on the bill. While the Blue Angels’ spring schedule is in doubt, the Air Force’s formation-flying Thunderbirds and the Army’s Golden Knights skydivers have canceled their performances outright. Combined, the three teams had booked more than 190 performances between the spring and fall. That’s left many air show organizers scrambling to find replacements, such as civilian pilots with loud, fast jets from the Vietnam era or vintage planes from World War II. The uncertainty has forced others to simply cancel altogether.

John Cudahy, the president of the Virginia-based International Council of Air Shows, said at least 150 U.S. air shows each year count on military performers to draw big crowds. A group like the Blue Angels or the Thunderbirds can account for 10 to 30 percent of attendance – in some cases enough to determine whether a show makes or loses money.

Canceled appearances don’t just mean fewer dollars spent on tickets, souvenirs and concessions. They also mean fewer fans traveling to shows out of town and spending on hotels, restaurants and gas.

“If the military does not participate in air shows during the 2013 season, the economic impact will reach far beyond the show itself and deeply into the communities in which those shows are held,” Cudahy said.

Several air shows hosted by military bases, which show off their flashiest planes for publicity and as a recruitment tool, were canceled almost immediately. They include shows at MacDill Air Force Base, Fla.; Luke Air Force Base, Ariz.; Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C.; Langley Air Force Base, Va.; Dover Air Force Base, Del.; and Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, Texas.

On the South Carolina coast, the April 27-28 air show hosted by Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort remains on track – at least for now. Chief organizer Ivey Liipfert said “there’s still some time to hold out hope.”

More than 100,000 spectators swarm into Beaufort, a city of 12,400, for the air show. Surveys indicate more than a third of the crowd travels more than 50 miles to see it, and many spectators stay for more than three days. Liipfert said without the Blue Angels, it’s possible the show would be canceled.

John Rembold, a board member of the local Chamber of Commerce, said that will definitely deprive hotels and other business of tourism dollars. It would serve as an unavoidable civics lesson, however.

“If folks have not been paying attention to the dire budget problems our nation faces,” Rembolt said, “this might be a little bit of cold water in the face.”